Not Even if You Paid Me!
by Ensign Klutz
Summary: Artemis who was used to being independent is injured during a mission thanks to that trait. With this mistake hanging in the balance Wally comes to her rescuse and thanks to all the madness, she realizes she may feel more than annoyance towards Kid Flash
1. Chapter 1

**Not Even if You Paid Me!**

**Chinese Fairy:** All right, this pairing is one that I have been implying since I began writing for this fandom, yes, Kid Flash and Artemis would be a cute couple and even though they already display a "grumpy married couple" and even Dr. Fate hinted at it, neither hero has woken up and smelled the denial!

Me, being the crazy that I am, will kinda make myself feel better by writing a story where at least one of them will acknowledge the feeling and if I like this testing of the water, I may write another story where they FINALLY GET TOGETHER! I've seen an ant pushing a brick move faster than Artemis and Wally! Grrrr!

**Disclaimer: **In case you have never read any of my other stories that I've sacrificed to this new fandom, I do not own Young Justice. If I did own this awesome idea, then I would have used Tim and Bart for Robin and Kid Flash… All the rights go to D.C Comics, Cartoon Network, and Warner Bros. I'll send you all a memo when I finally save all the pennies I have and buy the rights… See you in forever~

**Chinese Fairy:** Now I know you guys didn't come here to see _me _blabbing, go onto the story and enjoy~!

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**Not Even if You Paid Me!**

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Artemis groaned, as her leg sent messages via her nervous system telling her something was wrong; _"Of course I know something is wrong! This damn wound has been distracting me since I got it!" _She growled inwardly and exhaled loudly.

"_How the Hell did this happen? Everything was going just fine!"_ Artemis slumped against a wall; her breathing ragged and her vision dizzy from the heated and blood loss. Her eyes scrolled down until they landed on her wound: a five-inch laceration that opened from her knee to her lower leg. _"If I look closely enough, I can see the bone!"_ shutting her eyes, Artemis felt like she was reliving the last ten hours of her life…

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Mount Justice, Rhode Island was experiencing a rainy day that seemed ready to flood the world. There was a storm warning that was issued early that day and the weather mimicked the emotions of those in the mountain. The rain meant no trip to the beach; electricity was coming and going, so Red Tornado gave each teenager a portable light; and there was nothing to do.

All the Young Justice teammates found themselves in the kitchen and living room where Megan was sitting on the couch reading a book with the cylindrical light source illuminated the words.

Robin and Aqualad were using the coffee table to complete the fourth game of chess. Their lights made the board seem more ominous just as the Boy Wonder moved in for, "Check," he proclaimed and Kaldur had one shot to prolong his King's life before game over.

Superboy was watching the game; Robin's pieces were black and Kaldur's were white; when the pieces moved they kinda resembled the static on the T.V whenever he turned it on, so it was an okay replacement until electricity came back on.

Wally and Artemis found themselves in a game of Jenga. It was a game that had rectangular wooden blocks perched into a tower and the players had to remove one block at a time without bringing down the constructed tower. Artemis smirked as she pulled out the seventh block out from the middle of the wooden monument and Wally paled; the tower was already swaying.

Sucking in a small breath, the speedster did the unthinkable: slowly, his fingers grasped onto a block that was near the top, he was playing it safe, and carefully, he began pulling out. He was so engrossed in his concentration that he nearly jumped out of his skin when the lights came on and their minder spoke over the intercom, "Batman and I have repaired the circuit breakers, come to the briefing room for your next mission."

Kid Flash gaped as the jerk of his arm sent the tower crumbling to the floor. Artemis was smugly grinning at him and stated, "Yeah! I won two out of three games!" her grin looked like it would split her face in two.

He nodded grumpily and replied, "Fine, fine… The first time I tried to vibrate my molecules through a wall, I did it all wrong and never even made it into the wall. My face bumped right into the wall and the first bloody nose was because of that, not because I messed up the move." Artemis was smiling; this is what they agreed between themselves.

Whenever they played a game, which had a competition and a winner, the loser would have to share one embarrassing thing about them. Her smile lost the smug attitude and she nodded, "I accept, thanks for the show and tell, speedster."

Everyone stood from their places and stretched their cramped muscles before leaving towards the exit that would take them to their "general" who bestowed upon them missions.

Wally used his super speed to place all the pieces of the Jenga game back into its respectable box and noticed that the archer waited for him at the doorway. "Come on, they're going to start without us." She prompted and they sped walked to catch up to the rest of the team.

Batman was already bringing up a zoomed-in image of Jakarta, the capitol of Indonesia when they walked into the briefing room. He typed a few more commands and one the screen to the right, loaded a picture of a man with a marred and scarred face that left his face looking like a monster.

Without turning away from his keyboard, the Dark Knight began the meeting, "Two days ago, the Justice League lost sight of an S-Class terrorist named Mahari; his last name is not known and this may just be a name he coined from years of being a seller in the Black Market. He sells weapons in Asia and Australia; this time we nearly got him when he detonated he detonated several claymore mines that threatened a small city.

"The League lost sight of him and a source informed Superman about a possible sighting in Jakarta." He clicked the enter button and a rundown, hole in the wall restaurant appeared right next to the picture of Mahari. "This is the restaurant located in Jakarta Barat, or West Jakarta. This is the highest concentration of small industries and where the 'Chinatown' of the capital is. The mission is simple and straightforward: search the small portion of Jakarta and report what you find. If you do spot the target, you do not engage," the white lens that covered the Dark Knight's eyes narrowed as his voice deepened, "none of you will engage the subject; you will inform the League and _we_ will handle taking him down."

Robin lifted a hand a began talking before Batman nodded in permission, "How reliable is the source?" a moment passed that enabled those gloved hands to type in a search for a profile; a second later one popped open and it eclipsed Mahari, "A petty thief by the name of Nakula came forward and said he saw Mahari in a restaurant in Chinatown. He heavily implied a deal was going down between Mahari and another party."

The Boy Wonder nodded and stepped back, Megan now spoke, "If we do not find this Mahari in the designated area, do you want us to widen the search?" Batman shook his head and elaborated, "The Jakarta Barat is 50 square miles. I am only sending you to the sub district, Taman Sari, where the Chinatown is located. That is 4.37 square kilometers," he was off by Artemis murmuring to Wally, "That's roughly 4780 yards to pan through."

He rolled his eyes and bit back, "I knew that." Batman glared at the two arguing buddies and when they fell silent, he continued, "We are only sending you to that section of Jakarta; you will not expand the search. If nothing is found, we will pull you back. Dismissed."

They all nodded in understanding and left the Dark Knight to himself.

The long flight from Rhode Island the island of Java in Indonesia began and everyone took it upon himself or herself to ready their weapons and supplies for a long night of searching the haystack for their needle.

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As M'gann set her vessel down to rest in the middle of a soccer field, everyone else stood from their seats and stretched their cramped muscles. The sub district of Taman Sari was quiet since all its citizens were tired from a long days work and was now sleeping for another long day tomorrow. Megan unbelted herself from her seat and met the others in the back room where Robin was turning on another super computer.

The said teenager began typing on the keyboard and opened a window that showed off the area of Taman Sari. Nodding, the youngest hero gave the "go ahead" for Aqualad to begin.

"The area to search if not large, but it is overly crowded, so we are going to have to spread ourselves thin. Megan, you will take the south sector of the grid." The Boy Wonder moved to input a command and latitude and longitude lines appeared over the map.

The Atlantean continued, "Kid Flash, you can start your search in the west division; after you pan that area, you can begin moving north west." The speedster nodded with a large grin on his lips, "Sounds good!"

Moving on, he turned to Robin, "You will start in the south east; it is the most congested with business, but it is also the smallest portion of the area." The Boy Wonder nodded and typed his coordinates into his own personal portable computer.

Aqualad now focused on Superboy, "Begin a sweep in the east part of Taman Sari. You can go help Robin if your district sweep turns up nothing." The Boy of Steel and the Boy Wonder glanced at each other and grinned.

All that was left was Artemis, he pointed to the northern portion of the grid. "This is where you can begin searching; be cautious for the temple. Some people apparently go during the night as well." She nodded and double-checked her quiver.

Kaldur was now facing the rest of the group, "I will take the north east. Keep in mind that the Chinatown section of Taman Sari is in the middle of the map. We have a total of six hours before we are pulled out. Good luck and remember to be careful."

Kid Flash shouted a "see you later" and blurred out of the Bio-Ship. Robin and Superboy sprinted out of the ship and vanished into the night. The shadows hid them from anyone's sight.

Artemis nodded to her leader and ran off after them. Megan and Kaldur were the only ones left in the ship; they exited and the Martian placed her vessel in rest mode and activated the invisibility shield. "I'll connect us via telepathy," she said as she dropped her arms to her side.

He nodded and stated, "Sounds good; I don't think radios will do us any good in this mission." Smiling, they both waved each other good-bye and left point zero marked on their grid.

Everyone did not know where to place this mission under which category: practice, tedious, or a good chance to see a new city. All in all, the mission was hinting to be a long night.

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Conner sighed as he ran in the shadows in his section; there was nothing stirring. _"Not even a disgruntle drunk from one of the bars… I thought Indonesia was one of those countries that had to deal with problems…"_ he thought as he pushed himself on. After another long sigh heaved from his form, the clone entered the mental chat room that Megan set up for them all.

_"Robin, I got nothing going on in this area, what about you?"_ he asked in their telepathic link. A second later, the youngest hero's voice was heard. _"Ugh, this is a pain! There are so many small places and I've only gotten through maybe 35 percent of the buildings. I am not even close to being whelmed!"_

Everyone inwardly smiled at the bird's use of this favorite word. Conner nodded and replied, _"Well, nothing has happened for the last two hours, so I'm cleared. I'm on my way to help you. Can you send me an image of where you are?"_

As promised, a mental image of as three-story building appeared in the Boy of Steel's mind and he nodded, _"On my way,"_ and their conversation ended.

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Megan sighed as her flying form swept through another alley and nothing that connected to a terrorist. The city that was thought to be busy, even at night, was eerily quiet. Her mind was starting to overflow with uncertainty, but then she shook her head. _"I've got to stay calm! The others are finishing their sweeps and so should I; the sooner we finish this, the sooner we can leave."_ With determination keeping the uneasy feeling at bay, she flew faster into the streets with hopes of finding the man that eluded the Justice League.

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Aqualad shook his head for what seemed like the thousandth time; nothing. There was nothing that implied Mahari was even in Indonesia anymore he's been peaking through every window and broken alley for a sign, but that had shown up.

"_I still have a little more than fifty percent of my division to check,"_ he thought with a sigh and pressed on. Before jumping a six-foot gap between two buildings, Kaldur looked at his digital clock in his radio before sighing out loud; _"We still have three more hours before we're pulled out."_ With that, he sprinted towards the edge and easily made the jump.

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Wally was grinning from ear to ear; in the span of three hours, he finished his sweep through the west portion of Taman Sari and now he was on his way to find Artemis in her section of their grid. _"I knew I'd be the first to finish! I didn't even cut corners; I searched EVERYWHERE!"_ he was going to brag at the archer when he found her.

_"Hey, I'm on my way to your part of the district; where are you?"_ he asked through Megan's mind link. His fast pace running unconsciously slowed when he did not receive an answer.

"_Artemis?" _He spoke again;no response.

Now the speedster was not even moving as he called out to Megan and Kaldur via their link. _"Guys, Artemis is not answering, is something wrong?"_ the said heroes entered the "mental chat room" and the Martian's voice echoed concern.

_"She's not answering; she's not even connected to my mind! That only happens when you are unconscious or…!"_ she did not finish that sentence, but everyone on the team felt the dread in her mind.

Wally West was now sprinting off towards his friend. _"I'm going to go look for her!"_ he did not even wait for Aqualad to confirm if that was the best action, but he didn't care.

_"This heavy feeling in my chest is growing… What the Hell?"_ his confusion was clouding his mind since for some reason, the mere thought of anything happening to his arguing buddy was very painful! _"I'm just worried about my teammate; nothing more…"_ he was not convinced, but he had to ignore that right now. The archer was not answering any of their mental calls.

His red and yellow form blurred right past an elderly woman walking her tiny dog.

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Artemis sighed as her eyes scanned the area from on the rooftops; it seemed like that's all this mission was making her do: sigh. _"This mission is being filed under tedious! I swear, nothing has happened and nothing will at this rate!"_ she groaned and moved to syand on another the house three rows down.

The archer's sharp gaze fell over everything and it was proving to be an unfruitful mission. _"I'm almost done with my section; maybe I should just call it a night…"_ her inner musings were cut off as something in a dim lit alley caught her eye.

Scars, distortion, and burns that long since left the mark of fire… _"Mahari!"_ just as she was thinking his name, his gaze turned towards her hidden form deep in the shadows and she shivered as those coal black eyes spotted her from the street level.

_"I have to call for help!"_ she screamed in her mind, but she had to dodge a bullet that was aimed at her. She dodged rolled out of the way and jumped out her hiding place on the roof. The archer cocked an arrow into the nocking point and she fires a smoke bomb arrow at him. His form was enveloped in the smoke and she jumped down onto the street level to apprehend him.

"_Sorry Batman, but I was taught to do the arresting myself. One of Ollie's rules are independence is the mark of a true hunter!"_ a smile was appearing on her lips as she walked closer to the diminishing gray cloud.

"Mahari, you are going to be taken in by the Justice League in order to answer for your crimes in Malaysia." She stated as she readied the handcuff that were stuffed in the bag that hung from her belt.

She froze as she heard from the plume of smoke, "I don't think so, little girl." Artemis tried to back flip out of the way, but he was too fast. She bit back a cry of pain as a seven-inch blade sliced upward from out of the smoke and it got her.

Stumbling back, the archer investigated the injury her left leg was sporting. _"Damn it!"_ she cried in her own mind and once the smoke bomb diminished completely, she saw Mahari still standing there, waiting like a predator about ready pounce on its injured prey.

Artemis ignored her impulsive pride to stay and fight and tried to run away from him. A crazed smile graced his lips; he was going hunting.

This is where she now found herself.

Artemis groaned, as her leg sent messages via her nervous system telling her something was wrong; _"Of course I know something is wrong! This damn wound has been distracting me since I got it!" _She growled inwardly and exhaled loudly.

"_How the Hell did this happen? Everything was going just fine!"_ Artemis slumped against a wall; her breathing ragged and her vision dizzy from the heated night and blood loss. Her eyes scrolled down until they landed on her wound: a five-inch laceration that opened from her knee to her lower leg. _"If I look closely enough, I can see the bone!"_ shutting her eyes, Artemis felt like she was reliving the last ten hours of her life…

Thoroughly pissed with herself, Artemis shook away the feeling of fatigue and pressed on. The dimly lit alley was giving her a chance to rest since there was so much cluttered trash in there that no one would think to look in there.

"_It's been six minutes since he cut me and I'm not doing any better… I, I have to call for help!"_ she concentrated on the mental link she had with the others.

_"Guys, help! Mahari found me, and he got me in the leg, help-"_ her mind link was cut off by the hilt of a seven-inch blade hit her on the back of her skull. She fell to the floor with a loud banging from the trash around her.

Mahari was grinning a smile that had no place on a sane person's lips. "I found you, my dear."

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"_Guys, help! Mahari found me, and he got me in the leg, help-"_

Kid Flash nearly toppled over his feet as he heard and _felt_ the horror that was expressed in Artemis's moment of connection.

Aqualad paused his running to lean against a wall; the jolt nearly made him keel over.

Megan faltered in her flying, but she narrowly avoided running into an old lamppost and righted herself.

Robin was mid leap from one building to the one in front of him when he froze from the pure terror that swept thought his mind. For a split second he was blinded by Artemis's situation, but his mind quickly noticed that he was going to miss the designated roof.

Right as his form was falling past the ledge, Conner caught the Boy Wonder and pulled him over onto the safety of the roof. A moment later, Robin noticed that Superboy did not let go of him and he had a vice grip on his arms; he was shaken to the core by their archer's panic.

Megan quickly shouted in their mind link, _"She located in the small section of Chinatown in her division!" _She sped up her flying and hoped one of the teammates would make in time.

Kid Flash recovered as well and sped off to where the directions took him, _"I'm coming, Spitfire, WAIT FOR ME!" _He cried in his mind and if anyone was checking his speed, the speedster was nearing the speed of light.

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Mahari managed to drag his new trophy out from the dank alley when something blurred past him; what took him by surprise was the thing that zoomed past him, also struck him hard.

He stumbled and did a double take as another fast moving object was aimed at his face. His sluggish moves did not offer himself a defense as Kid Flash, the Fastest Boy Alive, punched him again.

The terrorist fell to the floor with a loud grunt and it took him a moment to see the speedster. "Hehe… The League couldn't find me, so they sent their kiddies to take me in? How rude…" he commented.

Wally was glaring from underneath his mask and rushed to pummel the jerk some more, when Aqualad, Miss. Martian, Robin and Superboy cut off his path.

"We are not the ones you should be worrying about." Spoke Kaldur as he stared down the man. Mahari laughed out loud; his cackling echoed off the walls to make him more ominous, but it did not intimidate the Young Justice team one bit.

"What makes you think I was even scared of you to begin with?" he countered with a hysterical pitch in his voice.

A dark voice came from the shadows that made a pathetic cry squirm its way from the terrorist's throat, "Because you attacked her first; you thought she was one of us."

Mahari yelped and turned around to see several Justice League members standing proudly above him on several building roofs. Batman, Superman, Aquaman, the Flash, Martian Manhunter and Green Arrow were glaring down at his now seemingly small body.

Kid Flash was just as shocked as him and turned to his team; his face was inferring a "What the hell happened?" look and was interrupted by Superman landing a few feet away from their target.

"You will now face your crimes; we will return you to Malaysia for your trial, then you will be extradited to the Philippines where twelve counts of murder are waiting for you." The Man of Steel sounded so different since his voice was laced with anger.

Mahari crumpled to his knees and began to hysterically sob.

Wally moved around the crying villain and ignored everything around him as he walked over to his friend and gently pulled Artemis close as he picked her up. She was not conscious, but her soft breathing told him that she was still alive.

The Flash and Green Arrow appeared by his side and the Fastest Man Alive spoke first, "Come on, let's get you both back to the base. She needs medical attention and you need to get away from here." The younger speedster nodded numbly and felt Green Arrow place a comforting hand on his shoulder.

The Flash placed two transmitters on Artemis and Kid Flash and he nodded, "So we can beam you guys through the teleportation device." He explained, but Wally did not seemed to hear him.

"Mount Justice, four to beam over," stated the male archer and a second later they disappeared.

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Kid Flash did not know how much time had passed him since he returned to the mountain and Green Arrow took his arguing buddy from him. He just sat outside the room that kept her from him and he sighed loudly.

Raking his hands through his hair, he slumped back into his seat and closed his eyes.

"I'm shocked to see you just sitting there," spoke a voice from his left and he turned to see Robin standing there with Superboy behind him. They both walked closer to the speedster before the Boy Wonder continued, "I thought you'd be pacing the hallway and indenting a pattern into the floor." His attempt to lighten his friend's mood helped some, but Kid Flash was not ready to take a relaxing breath.

"What happened after we left with Barry and Green Arrow?" he spoke as his eyes were still trained to the shut doors.

Robin leaned against the wall and replied, "Well, the League took away Mahari and we were left taking a lecture from Batman about 'not engaging the target'. He took pity on us and left us return to the base shortly after."

Conner rolled his eyes and added, "By taking pity on us, you mean five hours extra training as soon as Artemis is healed, right?" the Boy Wonder grinned sheepishly at his best friend and nodded.

Wally was still staring at the door and the other two heroes knew he would not get out of this depressing funk until Artemis came to. They both patted him on the shoulder, Conner's was more powerful than Robin's, and they walked away from their friend who was subtly asking for his space.

Once they were far enough from him, Kid Flash's shoulder's slumped even more and he asked quietly out loud, "Can you please be okay, Artemis?" an answer was not received.

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Blue eyes that were clouded from the anesthesia from her surgery timidly opened and Artemis found herself in a hospital room. She blinked away the fog in her head and eyesight and turned to see Wally, not Kid Flash, sitting by her bedside.

He was dressed in citizen clothes.

"Wally…?" she asked hoarsely, he offered her a straw that was dipped in a cup of water and she took a few grateful sips. She pulled back and nodded her head in thanks.

"How are you feeling?" he spoke; she was a little disturbed by how different he sounded, but replied, "I feel better; my leg doesn't hurt." Artemis added as she sat up.

The red head nodded absently and commented, "Yeah, the new medical supplies came in and there is this new device that replicates skins cells to help heal a wound faster, you heal almost as fast as I do." He joked and a small laugh came from her form.

As soon as that small break came, it left. An awkward silence swallowed them whole as Wally did no meet her gaze and Artemis was busy fiddling with the edges of her blankets.

"Why didn't you call for help from any of us?" he suddenly asked after what seemed like an hour passed.

She adverted her gaze now to the floor as she replied weakly, "I didn't think I needed help until everything feel apart so fast. One moment I was on top of things and the next I'm running for my life." A shallow breath passed her lips as the archer smiled sadly, "I was so used to doing things on my own before that I forgot that I now have a team."

The speedster shook his head and stated firmly, "You know that you can count on me to help you; you know I would have rushed over to help you in a split second. Fastest Boy Alive, remember?" he pointed to his chest.

Artemis nodded, "Of course I know that, it's just… Being on my own and independent is not that easy to just switch off from my mind." She countered; Wally was staring at her, but she was still gazing down at the floor. He didn't like that.

His fingers gently coaxed her face to move in order to face him and he was offering her a smile that she never saw before. Wally West was smiling a soft, warm smile that made it feel like butterflies were dancing in her chest. Artemis forced down that weird feeling and he spoke.

"I do not want to push you or pressure you into trusting us, _me_, but know that you can. I… I realized while I was holding onto you that… You're a good friend and I-I don't wanna lose you." His eyes were reflecting a desire to protect her and the archer wanted to ignore his offer.

"_I can't let this happen… If I let them into my heart, they will find out about my past… I-I can't risk it!"_ but no matter how much she chanted this, it was not really reaching her heart.

Wally would burrow his way into her life and no matter how much she wanted to boot him out, _"I don't think I can…"_ she thought weakly.

Wally continued speaking, "I'm glad you are doing better; maybe when you get out of this hospital bed, we all could go for a movie and lunch sometime?" he offered a large grin with his proposition of a group outing.

Artemis stared into his equally blue eyes and nodded after a second passed, "That'd be great…" she said and if he didn't notice how feeble her voice sounded, she could just write it off as grogginess from the long-term sleep.

Wally placed his hands on his knees with a loud slap, "Well, I've gotta go; my uncle wants me to come home and eat a home cooked dinner from my grandparents, he thinks I need a good meal to stop sulking over your injury." He babbled and she noticed a small blush on his cheeks.

Smiling, Artemis replied, "Well, get a move on. You're going to need all that food and energy, because when I get out of this bed and into training, I'm going to wipe the floor with you!" her smile grew as he gaped at her like a goldfish.

"I'd like to see that!" he countered lamely and she laughed in response.

"Then wait until I get out of here." She was smug as he continued gaping at her. After a few seconds, the shock left his face and he smiled, "See ya later, Artemis."

She waved back and said, "Take care Wally," he nodded and left her room.

Artemis let out a long breath as she rested back into her soft pillow. _"He was really worried about me; he even sat by my bed…"_ her heartbeat sped up.

_"Am… Am I falling for Wally?"_ the mere second that thought passed through her mind, she squashed it. "Hell no…" she murmured out loud.

The more her mind thought about it, the more she put two and two together. _"His knuckles were bruised; he must have gotten to me first…"_ a vague feeling of his arms wrapped around her, made the archer blush, _"He held me, he picked me up from my place on the floor…"_ she was now speechless.

Artemis Crock, protégé to Green Arrow, was falling in love with Wally West, Kid Flash…

She couldn't even think up a statement to shoot down that mind-boggling thought. After a moment, Artemis thought to herself, _"I can't believe I am crushing on him… no 'crushing on' would be what I was doing with Superboy… I actually like, _like_ Wally…" _her mind focused on that one thought for what seemed like eternity before she scoffed.

"I wouldn't admit that out loud even if you _paid_ me!" she did not expect anyone to really pay her, but it was the statement that gave her back what seemed like a secure state of mind, but what Artemis wasn't expecting was that her heart would not let her rest until she finally confessed to Wally about her feelings.

That metaphorical body part would not give up even if _you _paid it.

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**Chinese Fairy:** Another one, yes! You see that right! I am popping these in-between-ers out like crazy because I am kinda going through a dry up of ideas for the next chapter of "Pawns Can Feel Too", but thanks to this story, I now have a better of idea of what to write. I already started the next chapter, so it should be up soon.

Please excuse any errors, I tried my best to catch them and I hope to see you all soon in "Pawns Can Feel Too"!

Take care~


	2. Chapter 2

**Not Even if You Paid Me!**

**Part 2: Say I'm in Love**

**Chinese Fairy:** Yup, I GOT NINJA-ED BY ALL OF YOU WHO WERE ALL LIKE, "MORE!" OR "UPDATE SOON!"! YOU ALL HAD ME STARING AT MY SCREEN LIKE IT WAS GROWING BRAINIAC ON MY DESKTOP!

Anywho, I think this story is going to be a two-shot and then I'm calling it a day (story)~

**Disclaimer: **In case you have never read any of my other stories that I've sacrificed to this new fandom, I do not own Young Justice. If I did own this awesome idea, then I would have used Tim and Bart for Robin and Kid Flash… All the rights go to D.C Comics, Cartoon Network, and Warner Bros. I'll send you all a memo when I finally save all the pennies I have and buy the rights… See you in forever~

**Chinese Fairy:** Now I know you guys didn't come here to see _me _blabbing, you all came to see the archer and the speedster get together~ go onto the story and enjoy~!

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**Not Even if You Paid Me!**

**Part 2: Say I'm in Love**

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_A warm sunny day at the park with a light breeze made the vibrant green hill with a large willow providing shade to be a picturesque moment in time. A young woman was sitting upon that hill enjoying the perfect day._

_She was wearing leg-fitting jeans with a white summer blouse with short sleeves. Her golden blonde hair was pulled into a ponytail at the base of her neck and oddly enough, she had female aviator sunglasses on her face. _"I don't like wearing sunglasses… However, the mask never seems to bother me," _Artemis thought as the dream continued._

_"Artemis!" called a male voice; she turned her head to the source and saw a red head running, at high speed, up to her place on the hill. She smiled and said, "Hey," softly._

_The sixteen year old male grinned at her and replied while pulling her close for a hug, "Hey back to you; I missed you," he whispered in her ear._

_She found her smile growing with his presence and replied just as softly, "I missed you too, Wally,"_

_They both pulled back just enough to see each other's faces when her blue eyes met his emerald green eyes in a soul piercing gaze and then her consciousness caught up with her dream state._

"NO WAY IN HELL!" Artemis cried as she bolted into an upright position on her bed. The archer was panting lightly from that dream-_nightmare_ and it took her a moment to calm herself.

"_What the Hell was that?"_ she demanded in her mind as flickering pieces of the recent dream filled her mind. Artemis stared down at her lap; "I… I can't believe this is still going on…" she murmured aloud.

Her eyes glanced over to the alarm clock on the nightstand to the right of her bed and saw that it was 6:49 A.M in the morning on October the 27th. Another heavy sigh escaped her. _"It's been two weeks since that mess up in Indonesia and I'm still being bothered by these dreams!"_ she was now glaring at her forest green colored duvet. _"What is the DEAL?"_ Artemis was now growling under her breath as she violently threw the covers off her form and stalked off to her private bathroom for a long, hot shower.

_**YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ**_

Artemis walked out of her room adorned in her hero suit with her mask placed upon her face. She had spent nearly an entire hour in the shower trying to wash away the thoughts, dreams, feelings, and anything else connected to Wallace West, but it didn't help.

"_Usually a shower helps me feel better, but it seems that my favorite pastime is not cut out for stunting the growth of 'Wally thoughts'." _She grumbled in her mind; nothing she has done so far has calmed her erratic heart rate whenever she was near the speedster.

She was unconsciously glaring as she made her way through the base. _"Before, when it was just us going through the brother and sister bickering motion, I thought I could ignore the implications my mind was pointing out and go on with my days… Now it won't GO AWAY!"_ along with her glare, came a deep dust of rouge on her cheeks; great, first the glare and now a blushing archer…

"Umm, Artemis?" asked a tentative voice from her right; the said archer turned to see Megan standing there. The Martian was wincing slightly and this made the other female hero concerned.

"What's wrong, Megan?" she asked as he placed a comforting hand on her friend's upper arm. Megan mumbled something, but Artemis didn't catch it. "What?" she asked.

M'gann repeated her statement with a little more volume. "You're thinking very loudly,"

Artemis felt her face get hotter. "I-I'm sorry, Megan! I didn't mean to… is it that loud?" she asked with embarrassment clear on her face. She received a nod, "Yes, it's like you were yelling at the same time babbling… I can't really make out what you were saying, but I can sense that you are distressed." Replied the female Martian.

Artemis glanced down to the floor before hesitantly nodding, "That's one way to word what I'm going through, but yeah… I'm kinda out of it right now… There's something on my mind and it is just a little too… o-odd…" her blush made her seem younger and the hesitant tone lacing the archer's voice made Megan smile, _"She tries so hard, like the rest of us, to seem grown up, but we _are_ still young adults…"_

Megan took Artemis's hand into hers and gently tugged her towards the kitchen, "I need to pull out the batch of cookies in the oven, come and keep me company?" she posed the statement as a question, but Megan was just being formal; Artemis was coming with her whether she wanted to or not.

The archer nodded in defeat and allowed herself to be pulled along by the floating, cheerful, Martian who was leading her down the hallway to the kitchen.

They arrived in time to see Wally slouched in one of the seats placed in front of the bar that connected to the living room; Artemis tensed and the speedster grew a grin on his face in less that three seconds.

"Megan! I smelled a fresh batch of cookies and came running; what'd you make this time?" he asked. The said Martian giggled and used her free hand to telepathically open the oven door and pulled out the cookie tray to rest on the stove.

"White chocolate macadamia cookies… I heard Artemis likes white chocolate and macadamia nuts," she glanced at her friend whose blush was ready to burn off her face and Megan continued, "So I thought I'd give this recipe a try."

Kid Flash zoomed over to stand by the archer with a raised eyebrow. "I didn't know you liked white chocolate," he stated; all she could do was nod numbly. _"For some damn UNKNOWN reason, I can't form a coherent sentence at the moment!"_ she cried in her mind, Megan covered the smile that was threatening to spill onto her lips; she could feel her friend's tormented mind and in a second, she discovered the source.

_"Artemis likes Wally!"_ she inwardly cheered; _"Now is my chance to do what normal earthling females do for each other! I can help them get together!"_ she was beaming a brilliant smile as her powers gently took the cookies off the tray and Megan placed them onto a separate plate for further cooling.

The speedster didn't wait for them to cool and plucked one off the plate; he took a bite and nearly let the piece out of his mouth as he gasped. "Ah! Hot!" he cried.

Artemis saw this and heaved a sigh; she picked up the glass of milk, that she poured for herself, and offered it to the impulsive dope. "Here," she offered and he graciously took three large gulps that finished her drink.

He was back to his goofy self as he turned to Megan, "The cookies are still hot, so watch out!" he flashed her a large grin and then he turned to Artemis, "Thanks for the throat saving move, doc." His smile shrank to a normal size and he picked up another cookie before running out of the kitchen.

The archer was not pleased, "He is still head over heels for you, Megan…" she didn't even notice that she said it out loud until it was too late. Artemis whipped her head to gaze at Megan's eyes; they held nothing but sincerity.

The other female hero replied gently, "He gave me the bigger smile, yes, but Artemis," Megan moved to stand closer to her friend for a more clear statement, "His smile towards you was more sincere. The smile for me was a façade, yours was true. Think about that." She smiled and turned to the cookies.

"I bet he didn't really taste them since he may have burned his taste buds, but how about you, can you give me a better review?" she offered Artemis one of the treats.

The archer took the offered cookie and a tentative bite. It melted in her mouth; smiling her own smile, the archer replied, "It's really good, Megan. Thank you for this."

M'gann nodded and placed the plate down. "I've felt such trouble emitting from you these last couple weeks, Artemis… I can guess and say it has something to do with Wally, right?" she looked at her friend and saw the archer nodding in response.

"Well, then you have to do something about it before it drives you mad… I can sense you are literally being eaten away by this-" Artemis cut off her best friend.

"It's a silly crush and in a couple weeks it will finally go away!" reasoned the blond with no real confidence in her voice. Megan pulled her into a hug and murmured into Artemis's neck, "You can't wish away love, Artemis. That is what I feel from you," she pulled back and saw confusion and a tint of fear adorning the archer's face.

_"No… I-I can't believe this is love, why did I have to fall in love with this dope of a hero? Why couldn't it be Superboy, he's… well, no Wally is better… Gah! My mind is beginning to fumble in on itself!"_ Artemis hid her face into Megan's shoulder and she whimpered.

"I can't fall in love with anyone, Megan… It's a bad idea…" she whispered with defeat already in her voice. Megan pulled back and lifted the archer into a bridal hold and flew over to the couch. She settled down and ushered Artemis to lean onto her shoulder, _"Female earthlings do this, right?"_ she nodded and continued talking, "How can doing what feels right be a bad thing, Artemis? You love him… it's not a simple crush. I can feel love flowing from you heart… I never felt such beautiful feelings before… it is true."

She pulled away slightly, just enough for their eyes to meet. "Can you look into my eyes and tell me that what you feel is wrong? We both know that that is not true." She saw Artemis give the slightest nod in agreement.

Megan's smile grew as she continued, "Since we can both agree to that, give him a chance… Tell him how you feel and listen to how he feels. I want to think what I've been feeling from him is a response to your love…"

Artemis smiled dryly, "So we cannot confirm if he actually feels to same way, huh?" despite her sarcastic smile, she was being honest. There was not guarantee…

Megan nodded and asked, "Isn't it better to be honest with your feelings? Even _if_ he doesn't feel the same way, which I don't believe, the fact is that you told him that you love him and that is very important to him and yourself, no?"

Artemis remained silent for a few moments before nodding; her head bobbed up in down absently, then M'gann sensed that after a second, her mind caught up with her actions and the silent agreement connected to the answer. "Yes, you're right… I need to tell him for him and myself…" agreed the archer.

She stood up from the place on the couch and began walking towards the exit of the room. Artemis paused at the doorway and said over her shoulder, "Thank you for snapping me out of my two-week funk." And walked away.

Megan slumped against her place on the couch and sighed, "I wanted to help them get together, but this time…" she smiled, "maybe not this time…" she levitated off the couch and flew off towards where Kaldur was, _"Maybe he can help me learn chess… that can also give me something else to ponder on while Artemis confesses to Wally."_ She flew faster and nearly ran into the Atlantean.

Instead of giving a cry of surprise, she cried out, "Teach me to play chess?" he gasped at her random action and helped her straighten herself into a normal standing position.

"What?" he asked in a confused tone; she giggled in response and spoke, "First, I'm sorry for nearly running into you," he nodded in acceptance and she continued, "I was wondering if you could teach me chess… you and Robin seem to be playing it more frequently, so I was wondering if you could teach me as well."

Kaldur smiled warmly in return and motion her to take the lead, "Let's go to the lounge room then." They made their way to their destination and Megan still found herself wishing that everything between the archer and speedster would go smoothly.

_**YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ**_

Since she did not have super speed, it took Artemis fifteen minutes of walking all over the base to finally find the speedster. He was in one of the training rooms running on a specially built treadmill that could take his high speeds and not.

She stayed leaning against the opposite wall to him for a few moments just staring at him. _"I… I can do this… We are both old enough to remain in a professional relationship if he doesn't like me back, right?" _her uncertain thoughts were going to eat her alive.

Biting back a sigh, Artemis stood from her spot against the wall and walked closer to the Metahuman, who was running according to the computers, 200 miles per hour.

With a raised eyebrow, she spoke, "Any faster and you could start manipulating time," she teased lightly. Kid Flash screeched to a stop on the treadmill and turned to see Artemis standing close to the machine with a smile on her lips and she had a bottle of water in her hands.

She offered him the beverage, which he gratefully took. After a couple gulps of cold liquid cooling his throat, he replied, "The Speed Force will one day give me that ability, but for now, I am still fumbling with vibrating my molecules through a wall." He grinned at his words and she felt a smile growing on her lips despite the number of butterflies growing in her stomach. _"His smile is crazily addicting…"_ she mused.

"I need to talk to you," she blurted out and inwardly groaned, _"Minus five points for finesse…" _Wally looked at her and actually saw her posture; slightly rigid and her right hand was placed over the junction of her left arm where the upper arm socket met the forearm's socket. _"She's nervous,"_ he thought in his mind and his light banter aura vanished.

"Sure, let's go somewhere less work oriented." He offered and they left the training room.

The two heroes found themselves in the bay where there was a cave that leads to the ocean with a large enough gap for sunlight to enter the Metahuman-made grotto. He plopped down at the edge with his feet now dangling in the cool water.

Artemis sat down next to him and silence swallowed them. He didn't push her and for that she was grateful.

The minutes ticked by and neither moved or spoke. Artemis glanced at him and fidgeted in her seat; _"He's waiting for me to say something and I can't seem to speak!"_ she took in a small breath and froze. Her heart began speaking before her mind could comprehend the act of treason.

"Wally, there is something that I need to tell you," she was now facing him and noticed he had a patient look in his eyes, "Ever since the last mission in Indonesia, I have noticed that my feeling about a certain subject has changed drastically and it has to do with you." While her mouth continued vocalizing her feelings, the logical side of Artemis was flipping out.

"_This is NOT tactful! This is PURE insanity! Why did I let Megan talk me into this? Maybe if I laugh it off now and stop my mouth from blabbing, I can still save our relationship! 'Bickering married couple' is a good title! No one really thought we were together then! It is a better title then 'ex-arguing buddies'!" _No matter what she thought her metaphorical organ, her heart, would not let her lie anymore.

"I thought when we first met, we would never get along, but over time, I realized that my teasing, mocking, and arguing with you was a defense I made in order to deny my real feelings." She took in a small breath and exhaled just as softly, "I realized two weeks ago that I liked you more than a friend."

He gaped at her and Artemis made her message loud and clear, "I like you a lot, Wally. A lot more than I thought I could."

Silence was again filled the submarine docking bay of Mount Justice.

His mouth open and closed for a few moments, and now the logical side of Artemis finally took over again, but she fumbled over her words, "I-I know that you… You may like M-Megan, but I just thought, that… I had to tell you my feelings. I-it's not right for me to lie to you… and myself… I completely understand if you don't like me-" she was cut off by his right index finger gently placed on her lips.

She looked up to his brilliant green eyes and found the words dying out in her throat.

His eyes were shining, but Artemis could not discern any emotions.

Finally, once her voice cut off and she was not going to interrupt him he replied, "For the last month… I thought I was just finally getting comfortable with you on our team, but I guess I was only fooling myself." He chuckled without any real amusement in his voice.

"When we were in Indonesia, and I felt your fear… It devoured me whole and I thought I was going to lose you then… it scared me; it scared me so much that ignored anything and everything around me. My only concern was to see if you were okay." Their eyes were locked onto one another's and no one moved.

"When I found you hurt, I wanted to kick that bastard's ass into the Speed force, but you were more important than him… While I was sitting in the infirmary by you side… It hit me like a ton of bricks." He smiled softly, "I like you a lot. I'd almost say love, but I don't really know what that feels like."

Artemis stared into his eyes, internally begging for him to write this off as a joke, but he didn't. Wally returned her feelings.

She let out a breath she was holding and smiled. She leaned her head forward and it gently thudded against his upper chest. "I am so happy right now and at the same time scared…" she murmured out loud. He raised an eyebrow for a moment and then asked, "Why?"

Artemis pulled away and replied elaborated, "I-It's not like this is something I am paranoid about, but my past is not a normal one, Wally and it's made me really… Independent and… kinda bitchy," he chuckled at her choice of words; she smiled as well and continued.

"I do want this, but… I don't want to lock you into a relationship that may already be preparing to blow up in our faces."

Wally stared back into her deep blue eyes for what seemed like five minutes, before answering, "A relationship is a two-person gig, Artemis… I am entering it with you. We can work out anything that comes our way, right?" she nodded.

Grinning back at her he added, "Besides, if we can take on any bad guys that gets in our way, a relationship can be taken on as well. I'm ready for this; I want this, do you?" he offered and the said archer found herself, both logical and illogic reply,

"Yes, I want this too."

Wally nodded and his right hand caressed her left cheek; this was a sign.

Her heart rate increased as she leaned into the touch and her eyes slid shut for a moment before opening again. This action made a tear roll down her cheek.

He gently wiped it away and leaned closer to her; Artemis initiated her side of the spell and leaned in close as well. As they inched closer and closer to one another, their eyes shut closed as they both truly felt everything of their first kiss.

Their lips met and those sparks that fire off in your entire body flew off like on the fourth of July in theirs.

That same electrical current that has zapped millions before them flowed through the speedster and the archer.

This is what love felt like…

Smiling into the kiss, Wally pulled back as did Artemis. They were both flushed red, but really big and silly smiles graced their faces.

"Wow…" they both murmured simultaneously; he leaned in for another kiss and murmured, "I hear practice makes perfect," he commented against her lips and Artemis allowed him to take her breath away again.

_**YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ**_

In the lounge room Robin was reading a book titled, "Serial Killers and an Unconscious Pattern"; Superboy was strewed out on a couch with an open book acting as shade from the warm lights overhead over his eyes.

Aqualad was moving his knight out from its position on the board when Megan suddenly shot up from her place on the carpeted floor and cheered loudly, "YES!"

Conner fell from his spot on the couch, Robin dropped his book, utterly startled and Kaldur looked thoroughly confused, "What's wrong Megan?" asked the youngest of the four who was helping Superboy off the floor.

The said female hero was giggling as she felt the explosive burst of happiness pouring into ever room in the mountain.

"Nothing is wrong, Robin," she replied absently as she drank in her friends happiness, "in fact, today is a very special day."

An eyebrow rose over his sunglasses as the Boy Wonder continued the conversation with another question. "Why is that?"

M'gann M'orzz turned to face him with a warm smile on her lips, "Because, true feelings finally over rid the stubbornness of logic."

The three male heroes were still lost in what happened, but Megan smiled. She knew what happened and what to expect next time she saw either the speedster or the archer.

"_They both are going to show us what real love is…"_ clapping her hand together, she turned to the rest of her team and stated, "Come on guys, I'm going to make everyone's favorite cookies. Tell me what kind you want."

They followed her towards the kitchen with all of their previous items of entertainment abandoned in the lounge.

Megan was the first into the kitchen where she saw Artemis and Wally walk in from a second corridor that leads into the room. Their hands laced together and Wally was grinning like he just won the lottery.

Artemis and Megan both met each other's gazes and the archer said in her mind, _"Thank you Megan, you were right."_ The said Martian nodded exuberantly and replied, _"You're welcome! May both of you be happy!"_

The rest of the team entered the room and after a split second, it all made sense.

"Congratulations are in order for the two most stubborn people on our team!" exploded Megan and they all laughed.

"Congrats!" Artemis and Wally found themselves blushing at the attention, but one look from one another made them realize this is something to be happy about.

He kissed Artemis on the cheek and all of the Young Justice went about making a lot of food for a party congratulating both heroes for finding love in the trouble filled job of saving the world and _not_ being sidekicks.

_**YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ**_

**Chinese Fairy:** … I'm not sure what to think about this… I hope this is somehow a way they could get together! (Smiles) I like it, but I'm not sure about you all… What do you guys think?

I wanted to focus mainly on the emotions and the fumbling before a relationship usually starts and my friend said it was good. The said friend read this and was giggling as well; she posed a very disturbing question of what would Green Arrow and Red Arrow think of them together and all I could say was "epic to the max…"

Anywho! I hope you all enjoyed this epic get togetherness and I will see you all in "Pawns Can Feel Too"!

Take care~!


End file.
